Carving-fork.



W L. BURRITT- CARVING FORK- APPLICATXON FILED FEB. 11. 1918.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

FEQE.

WALTER L. BURRITT, OF FRANKLINVILLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR '10 ONTARIO KNIFE COMPANY, OF FRANKLINVILLE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GARVING-FORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

Application filed February 11, 1918. Serial No. 216,447.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER L. BURRITT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Franklinville, in the county of Cattaraugus, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Carving- Forks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the devices employed for locking the folding guards of carving forks both in their folded and unfolded positions.

Its object is the provision of a simple and durable spring-lock of this character which can be cheaply produced and which is at the same time practically invisible, rendering the fork neat and sightly in appearance.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fork embodying the invention, with the guard unfolded. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the fork showing the guard folded. Fig. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the guard. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4-4, Fig. 1, showing the relative positions of the lock-members when the guard is unfolded. Fig. 5 is a section, similar to Fig.

legs 3 4, showing the relation of said members in the intermediate or dead-center position of the guard. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section, on line 66, Fig. 1, showing the lock-memhers in the position corresponding to Fig. 4:. Fig. 7 is a section similar to Fig. 6, showing the lock-members in the position corresponding to Fig. 5.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

1 indicates the shank of the carving fork and 2 the folding guard having the usual which straddle the shank and are pivoted thereto by a transverse pin 5, preferablv fixed in the shank.

Referring to the fork-shank and the guard, one of these members is provided with a locking pin or projection and the other with a cooperating cam-groove curved substantially concentrically with the guard pivot 4. In the preferred construction shown in the drawings, the locking pin 7 projects from one side of the fork-shank into the cam-groove 8 formed in the inner side of the adjacent guard-leg 3. This groove is provided. preferably in its bottom, with a raised double cam-surface or ridge 9 which slopes from the middle portion toward both ends of the groove, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and which is adapted to ride over the end of the locking pin in swinging the. guard from its folded to its unfolded position, or vice versa- This camridge is of such height and the locking pin is of such length that the grooved leg of the guard is permitted to bear against the side of the shank when the pin is seated in either of the deep ends of the groove, as shown in Figs. 4'. and 6; while when the ridge passes over said pin, the grooved leg is expanded or sprung away from the shank, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7 To give the guard the necessary resilience for this purpose, it may be constructed of cold-rolled case-hardened steel or other suitable metal.

By this construction, upon swinging the lard from its folded position to its unfolded position shown by full lines in Fig. 1, the upper side of the cam-ridge 9 rides over the locking pin 7, expanding the grooved leg until the apex of the ridge passes over the pin, when the leg again contracts to its normal position against the shank, in which position the pin is seated in the deep lower end of the groove, as shown in Fig. 4. In this position the rising lower side of the cam-ridge resists the forward movement of the guard with suiiicient force to retain it in its unfolded position. Upon swinging the guard to its folded position. the cam-ridge likewise rides over the locking pin but in the opposite direction, first expanding the grooved guard-leg and then allowing it to return, thereby bringing the pin into the deep upper end of the groove and'locking the guard in that position.

The guard is thus automatically locked in either position by an exceedingly simple expedient.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the pivot-pin 5 is of the proper length to support the locking-leg of the guard in its expanded as well as its contracted position.

While combining the advantages of simplicity. durability, cheapness and neatness,

the lock moreover is sanitary in that it has no exposed openings or cavities liable to collect dirt.

Obviously, the lock could be duplicated at the opposite side of the fork, but ordinarily this is unnecessary. V

I claim as my invention:

'lheflcombination with the fork-shank and, a resilient foldin'giguard attached to said shank by a transverse pivot, one of the two first-named members having a camgroove substantially concentric with said pivot and the other member having a projection which interlocks with said groove. 2. The combination with the fork shank and a resilient folding guard attached to said shank by a-transverse pivot, one of the two first-named members having a groove substantiallyconcentric with said pivot and .provided with a cam-ridge sloping toward opposite ends of the groove and the other member having a projection which interlocks with said groove.

3. The combination with thefork-shan]; and aresilient folding guard attached to said shank by a transverse pivot, the forkthereof and adapted to ride over said projection to lock theguard in its folded or unfolded'position. V t. V.

WALTER L. BURRITT.

' Copies'ot this patent may be obtained for five'centseach, By addressing the "Commissioner 01' Patents,

Washington, D'. G. 

